Who Has All the Fun?

This is the first story I wrote (Not Included in the Voting) for this week’s battle. I figured since I wrote it I might as well share it, too.

Never in a million years would she ever have thought she could do such a thing. Looking in the mirror still sent a shock down her spine. The best part was that none of her friends or family had seen her since she’d done the drastic deed. Her grandmother was sure to disapprove, but then again, she tended to have unexpected reactions to certain things, so maybe not.

In less than an hour May would be arriving at the party. Her sister, Bella, had a terrible problem with keeping secrets and let the news of a surprise party slip a couple of days ago. May didn’t mind. She hated surprises, especially ones that had to do with her.

As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, though, she had to rethink her aversion to surprises because here she would be shocking the congregated whole of everyone she knew with her new hair color. People always say blondes have more fun, but May wasn’t so sure. Now that she’d dyed her own hair, she was about to find out if the statement was true or not.

Every strand seemed to shimmer is the setting sunlight streaming through the window. The effect caused May to feel glamorous. After trying to pin her gently wavy locks up several different ways she gave up the effort. Instead, she left it hanging down, scattered about her shoulders. The pink silk flower clip she added gave the perfect amount of contrast.

May heard the sound of a knock on her door. Bella had arrived to take her ‘out to dinner.’ They both knew this wasn’t true, but she was going to play along anyway. It would be silly to ruin everyone’s fun by revealing she knew about the party.

Bella opened the door and slammed it closed behind. “C’mon, Sis! It’s time to go. It wouldn’t be right to be late for you own—WOAH!—what did you do!”

May’s laugh was high and soft like the gentle tap of wine glasses during a toast. “Well, this is a big birthday, and I wanted to try something new. What do you think?”

She wanted to know, but was hesitant to hear the truth of Bella’s reaction. Her sister’s face seemed to say it wasn’t a good change, but maybe it was mere shock.

“Yes. Actually, I love it. I’m wondering if we should skip the party and go have mine done, too.”

“Another time, Bee. Let’s go see if we can surprise the surprise party.”

“Great idea. After you,” Bella said, her arm swinging in a downward arc across her body.

May took Bella’s upturned palm in her hand and pulled her out the door, letting the automatic lock click in place as the door slammed closed.

They walked the six blocks across town toward May’s favorite restaurant. It was housed on the top floor of an office building. She rarely went because the prices were off the charts, but she loved the food. Instead of turning into the restaurant, May and Bella opened a door opposite that of Ma Cherie’s and took one more flight of stairs ending at the roof.

Bella touched May’s hair once more, smiled to reassure her sister, then pressed the door open while nudging May through first.

May knew there would be a few people here, but the sheer volume of guests left her agape in spite of her previous awareness.

“SURPRISE!” everyone bellowed as one. And then, by degrees, May watched the party goers faces turn from looks of delight to looks of astonishment.

She laughed. “Oh my! Thank you all so much. I can’t believe it.”

Her eyes met those of her husband in the crowd. At first, she couldn’t tell if he was upset or not, but he pushed his way to the front. His demeanor had a serious quality she couldn’t read.

“Do you like it?” May asked, her voice tiny, worried, and hopeful.

“I never really pictured you as a brunette and definitely not with black hair. Wow . . . just wow. I’d love you with any hair color, May. You’re beautiful. I think I’ll miss my little blonde, though.”

“I’m sure she’ll be back.”

“Happy birthday, my raven queen.” He kissed her hand then kissed her lips.

“Thank you.” Her smile was too big to contain.

Soon the party was well underway, and after many comments and compliments, May found herself having a grand time. She also discovered the old adage isn’t really true. Brunettes have just as much fun as blondes . . . maybe more!

Yay! The next word is cosmic. 1000 words or less, PG( pg-13max to ensure family friendliness since my kids like to participate! & would love more to feel free to join in) 🙂 so excited! Just click on the #BlogBattle menu button for the info. 🙂 yay! Allons-y!

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Rachael Ritchey is a dreamer who believes in the resilience of the human spirit. She never wants to forget we are not what has happened to us or what we've done. She believes we are deep wells of compassion and strength, and when unleashed, these subtle super powers can change the world, even if only just one person at a time.
Rachael writes with an eye toward exemplifying these attributes. Her clean but real and true-to-self YA fiction reflects these qualities with daring adventure and sweet romance that almost anyone can enjoy. Rachael lives in Spokane, WA with her husband, kids, and their dog named Hashtag.